The ‘Giorgio Armani Privé 2005-2025’ exhibition between 21 May – 28 December 2025 at the Armani /Silos offers a rare, intimate look at twenty years of the designer’s couture, juxtaposing the immaculate tailoring with the unexpected wearability.
Giorgio Armani (11 July 1934 – 4 September 2025), who passed away recently, leaves behind a legacy that feels almost mythic in today’s fashion industry. He was not merely a name on a label, but among the last of the true ‘couturier‑entrepreneur’ generation, who built an empire around his own vision and retained full ownership of the house that bears his surname.
Armani was born in Piacenza, in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region in 1934. After a brief stint in medicine and serving in the Italian army, the visionary entered fashion by working as a sales clerk at the La Rinascente department store in Milan. Interested in designing, he cut his teeth at Nino Cerruti, where he learned the art of tailoring and the power of understated elegance. He sharpened his sense of luxurious fabrics and deepened his appreciation for the relationship between material and silhouette. These experiences forged a philosophy that would later become his hallmark: clothing should serve the wearer, not dominate them.
‘I dress people, not clothes,’ Armani once told a reporter in 1992. ‘My aim has always been to create something that feels like a second skin—refined, but never theatrical.’
Defining Armani Privé
Unlike the Parisian houses that must bow to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture (now the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode) to bear the official title, Giorgio Armani never really sought a formal membership (nevertheless his Privé line is an official member of the FHCM).
‘The label ‘haute couture’ is a legal protection, not a creative one,’ he explained in a 2018 interview with Vogue Italia. ‘If my work speaks to the soul of couture, the paperwork is irrelevant.’
His independence allowed him to sidestep the rigid requirements of a Parisian atelier, such as the minimum staff numbers, bi‑annual collections, and a fixed runway schedule, while still delivering garments that met the same standards of craftsmanship, hand‑finishing, and fabric excellence. Armani Privé thus became a statement of artistic autonomy: a couture line defined by the designer’s own criteria rather than by institutional mandates.
Other Maisons pushed the envelope of extravagance, Armani’s couture remained rooted in wearability. The result was a rare blend of haute‑couture sophistication and practicality. Thus, his Privé creations appeared not only on catwalks, but red‑carpet events such as festivals from Cannes to Venice, the Golden Globe and the Oscars.
‘My philosophy has always been to help women and men feel comfortable and confident through the clothes they wear’, he said. He famously warned against women becoming victims of fashion, preferring ‘women who have elegance, who have allure, who use fashion, rather than the other way around.’
Milan, the Silos, and the Armani universe
Milan was always more than a headquarters for Armani. The Armani/Silos, a former grain storage complex on the outskirts of the city, were transformed in the early 2000s into a sprawling cultural hub that houses the HQ of the Armani SPAs, the Armani Hotels, and expansive workshops where artisans hand‑craft everything from silk scarves to embroidered evening gowns. The Armani/Silos became the beating heart of his creative ecosystem with spaces for creation, exhibitions and even shows, thanks to the Armani/Teatro.
The Silos’ industrial bones provide a stark backdrop for the house’s sleek aesthetic. Since opening, the venue has hosted a rotating roster of photographic exhibitions, retrospectives, and design installations and even student-designed innovative architecture models in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano. The Armani house itself uses the Silos to experiment on fabrics and new tailoring techniques, keeping the brand at the forefront of both fashion and design innovation.
Giorgio Armani Privé 2005‑2025: Twenty Years of Haute Couture
The Giorgio Armani Privé 2005‑2025 Twenty Years of Haute Couture exhibition opened its doors at the Armani /Silos on 21 May 2025. Conceived as a tribute to two decades of the designer’s most exclusive work, it was curated by Armani himself.
‘In my Haute Couture collections, I express my vision of style and elegance through the art of craftsmanship and savoir-faire: only here am I free to do so without limits.’, he stated in the press release for the opening.
The exhibition occupies the entire Silos, spread across its four levels:
The ground floor draws up the timeline of Armani’s early tailoring and the birth of Privé. The first floor includes a curated narrative of the first decade (2005‑2014), highlighting the transition from structured suits to ethereal gowns. The second floor presents the ‘golden era’ (2015‑2020), showcasing iconic red‑carpet pieces worn by Zendaya, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lopez or Demi Moore. The top floor hosts the most recent creations (2021‑2025), including the final collection Armani completed shortly before his death, a testament to his undiminished vigour.
Around 150 couture garments are displayed, each bathed in ambient lighting, scented around with Bois d’Encens and accompanied by an original soundtrack, turning the space into a multi-sensory archive of two decades of refined rebellion.
In a world where the term ‘couture’ is tied to bureaucratic definitions and financial results, Giorgio Armani’s Privé archive stands as a testament that true couture lives in the hands of the maker and the wearer alike. It presents an enduring reminder that elegance, when rooted in wearability, never truly goes out of style.
The building houses a digital archive area, located on the third floor, consists of research terminals, a screening room and touchscreen tables – a free admission ticket for the digital archive is automatically issued for each admission ticket for the museum.
During your visit you can enjoy an espresso, Armani/Dolci Tea and light meals at the Café, which is open exclusively to visitors of the exhibition space. Located on the ground floor, it features indoor seating as well as an outdoor area.
The exhibition will be open until 28 December 2025, after which it leaves the Silos to continue its rotating program of art, design and fashion.
Photo credits: Loupiosity.com
All registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.
All rights reserved.
